Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-02-27

non instituted Dy lne OONcInllOhs
eeejnst the patent owned by the Bell
telephone Company, which is to be
tried in the United States District Court
of Massachusetts,, IN the city OF Boston.
As is well known to every reader, the
magnificent franchise controlled by the
company named is based upon the OIL
leqcd invention of the speaking tele-
phone by Professor Alexander Graham
Bell. of whom we present portrait and
sketch.
This eminent man is native OF Ed
inburgh, Scotland, where he was born
on March 3, 1S47, in distinguished
family. His grandfather, Alexander
Pell. was for many years teacher o.
elocution in London, and was the origi-
nator of an educational method for the
removal of stammering; and his father,
Alexander Melville Bell, was also pro
fessor of elocution in Edinburgh, and
subsequently a lecturer in University
College. London. He was the author
of many professional works and the IN.
ventor of "visible speech, a system OF
universal alphabetics in which each let
ter exhibits the organic mechanisms OF
the sound it represents. Professor
Bells mother was the only daughter
of a surgeon in the British navy. Both
his parents are still alive, and reside
ut Tuielo Heights, Brantford, Ontario,
Canals. =.
his early education was conducted
at home, and when ten years old he
entered private academy. He in
herited taste for investigation into
the philosophy Of articulate speech,
and from infancy was brought into
contact with the results Of his fathers
labors, il being intended that he should
follow the same pursuit. After leaving
the high school he taught in an academy
at Elgin. and afterward matriculated
at the University of Edinburgh. His
family removed to London in 1850.
He spent that year i'll teaching at
Flcin. and afterward at Bath, Eng
land, where he first conceived the
idee of transmitting speech by cleo
tricitv, devoting much of his leisure to
the construction Of electrical apparatus.
In 1867 he became assistant to his IA
| Their in London, and three years later
| the family removed to Canada. In
October, 1872, Professor Bell went to
Boston and began teaching his fathers
system of articulation of deaf mutes in
| the Boston school for the deaf. He
also opened n private school and had
pupils from different parts of the world,
| and. besides, delivered many lectures
Professor Bell had made many nume-
rous electrical inventions from 1867
to 1870, and in the last-named year
determined TO pursue one of these
to q practical end. This mven-
ton was the telegrapnic transmission
of articulate sounds, or what is now
known as harmonic telegraphy. His
earliest experiments were to reproduce
musical tones with reeds. He devoted
all his time to the study of electricity
and experiments. isoriginal idea was
to perfect n system of harmonic tele-
ernphy. He first found that sounds
could Ire reproduced over wires connect
| ed with a galvsnic battery, and by adj
justing in the line OF vibration one set
| of reeds with another at the other end,
sounds on one set of reeds could be re-
produced in the other, and that each
could be made a transmitter as wei as
a receiver Of musical notes.
Then the idea of spoken words was
worked out on the same principle, and
one wire was found to answer all pur-
poses, and the telephone was complete.
From Professor Bells testimony he
made the experiments to determine the
tones of novels, and in Scotland made
special study of the analysis and SYN
thesis of vocal sounds. lie applied for
patents for his system of multiple tele-
graphy in 1875. In February, 1876, he
applied for q patent of his perfect tele-
phone, which was granted on March 7th
following. 1t was exhibited at the Cen
tennial Exposition, and early trials were
made successfully between Boston and
other cities. Since that time various
improvements have been made and
patented by the inventor. In obtain
ing and securing his patents Professor
Bell WIS not without rivals III his pecu-
liar field of development, for the same
results were claimed to have been OBJ
tanned by several independent expert
mentors simultaneously. Suits to estab-
lish the validity of Professor Bells
patent have been in the courts for the
past six years.
Professor Bell married a daughter of
Mr.. Gardner c. Hubbard, OF Cam
bridge, near Boston, and is the father
of family. He has made Washington
his residence for several years.